Don't Leave
by KiliTheDwarf7
Summary: Gandalf chooses a Nymphian girl to join the company; she has seen the wrath and ruin that Smaug brought to Erebor and Dale and is determined to give Thorin his rightful place on the throne of Erebor. She is accepted into the company and befriends the Dwarves and Bilbo, but will the quest have a happy ending? Or will she be at risk of heartbreak?
1. The Grey Wizard

Amarië's POV:

Rain fell from the dark skies over the small town of Bree where I was heading to meet with the Grey Wizard and a companion of his. It was mid-April, so this kind of weather was to be expected but I had hoped that I would not have to walk through thick, sludgy mud to get into The Prancing Pony. Eventually I arrived at the heavy wooden doors that were left open, revealing a warm pub filled with merry men and women and very few hobbits. I stood through the threshold when I noticed my old friend. Gandalf the Grey. A very powerful wizard who and helped me to find my way to safety after certain events occurred that left me helpless and alone.

Sat opposite him was a dwarf, but not any dwarf. This particular dwarf was the reason for my coming. He was Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain. At least, he would be King Under the Mountain…if there wasn't a large dragon sleeping there, claiming all of their treasures and gold. I remember the day that Smaug came and desolated the Dwarven town of Dale and forcefully took Erebor. The whole place was ablaze. Still to this day I am shocked by the number of survivors. There were many who fled in time, but still, the casualties were great.

Gandalf stood as I approached him, as did Thorin who eyed me up and down; clearly attempting to determine my race.

"Ah, Amarië, so glad that you could arrive on time. Please, do take a seat. Now, I'd like to introduce to you the leader of our company, Master Thorin Oakenshield."

"At your service Master Oakenshield," I half-bowed, half-curtseyed, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Amarië, one of few Nymphian warriors of the East."

"And to you, I have never before laid eyes on a Nymph," he stated.

"Not a surprising fact, we tend to stay far off to the East and do not often cross our borders. Though there are, of course, some exceptions to every rule." I half smirked.

"And may I ask why you are one of those exceptions?"

"My parents were banished after my mother drank the juice from a golden flower when she was gravely ill. Golden flowers are viewed as sacred to our Gods and it is a crime to cut a flower from its roots, let alone drink from its juice."

"Yes, yes, we have time for backstories later. I'm afraid we have more important matters at hand. Such as this quest. Now, Thorin, I have not told Amarië the full extent of the company's goal but she more than likely has her suspicions, don't you, Amarië?"

"Why of course, Gandalf, you of all people know of my curiosity of the world. Thorin, I have been studying the Lonely Mountain for years now, looking for signs that the dragon was dead. Recent events have caused me to have reason that you and your kin want to reclaim your homeland. Now, before you start asking questions as to why I began studying the mountain, it all began on the day Smaug came. I was there, visiting an acquaintance in Dale when he came and set the place alight. I know of the struggles you and your kin suffered. I know of your bravery and the abandonment you received from the Elves of Mirkwood. After seeing what that dragon did to such a thriving kingdom, I knew in my heart that I must help to reclaim it once the time was right. And this is the time. I know that you will have doubts. Most Dwarves tend not to trust people of other races, particularly when they are female and you have only known them for a short number of minutes but please, allow me to help you earn your rightful place in that mountain." I had leaned forwards while talking and found myself looking into his eyes with a look of assurance, he had to know that he could trust me. Then I would have a place within his company.

Some time passed as he thought; Gandalf and I exchanged a few concerned glances as Thorin battled with himself as to whether or not he should allow myself, a stranger, into his company. I began to lose hope until…

"Yes, you may join the company. But not until you have proven your strength to me. For my own reassurance, I must know of your fighting skills and your capability to wield a weapon."

"Of course, Thorin. As you wish." I replied to him.

"I shall show you the way to a safe clearing for you to spar. We do not want to attract any unwanted attention." Gandalf informed us as he stood and made his way for the door. Thorin and I followed, side-by-side. Silent.

The clearing was just outside of Bree's walls and was a good way away from any other passers-by. I placed my bow and quiver of arrows on the floor and unsheathed the sword that sat hidden on my waist. Thorin's eyes studied my blade. It was of Elvish make and was given to me by the Lady Galadriel when I reached 25 years of age. Nymphs age until they turn 25, when they reach adulthood. From then on, we stay young and do not die until we are slain in battle or are infected by poison. That was what happened to my mother. She was poisoned by a morgul arrow from an orc and became gravely sick. My father then ventured into the woods to find a Golden Flower to save her. He committed those crimes to save my mother and myself. For she was carrying me in her stomach at the time. I shall never be ungrateful for what he did. No matter the consequences that came from it.

When I was travelling through Edoras, soon after receiving the blade, I had asked some blacksmiths to engrave some Dwarvish, Human and Nymphian markings upon it which was why I had caught Thorin studying it. He no doubt recognised the Dwarven language that was found on one side of the blade. It read, '_Mukhuh Mahal udnîn zu ra sanzigil umkhûh zu' _which translates to, 'May Mahal keep you and mithril find you'. It is a good luck charm in a sense, for I often read it and feel as though I have the power of the Gods of my race and those of others with me as I fight my battles.

The two of us nodded, a sign that we were ready to fight. He lunged for me but I easily blocked, his strength failing to damage my defensive stance. I then raised my sword and swung towards his but quickly changed direction, testing his concentration. We continued like this. Neither one of us willing to lose until I managed to evade an attack and cause Thorin to lose his footing, allowing me to knock his sword from his hands. When I did so, he seemed in shock. Not only had he been beaten, but by a woman. I laughed in my thoughts at the embarrassment that he must be feeling. A King being beaten by what seemed to be a gentle female.

"You are a strong fighter," he complimented me, reaching for his sword that now lay upon a small pile of leaves.

"As are you, I can see why there are many who call you King." He very much appreciated that last comment. I knew from experience that it is best to be on a Dwarf's good side as soon as possible because it is very difficult to get them to like you once they have been given reason to dislike you.

"Thank you, Amarië. I hope to see you in the Hobbit's house when we hold the meeting for this quest."

"I shall be there, and I shall be prepared for our journey. _Mukhuh Mahal bakhuz murukhzu._"

**Khuzdul:  
><strong>_**Mukhuh Mahal udnîn zu ra sanzigil umkhûh zu - **_**May Mahal keep you and mithril find you  
><strong>**_Mukhuh Mahal bakhuz murukhzu - _****May Mahal's hammer shield you**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this introductory chapter, I have many ideas for how this story will play out and in each chapter I will be taking elements from both the book and the movies. I'll also be writing some lines in Khuzdul and Elvish to give it some authenticity and make it more Middle Earth style. I'm also using an element from the Disney movie, Tangled in which Rapunzel had magic hair with healing powers. Amari****ë will have the same.**


	2. Good Evening Master Baggins!

**Just to let you guys know, I don't own any of the story or the characters featured, all rights go to J. R. R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson. The song is also from the Disney film, Tangled :)**

Amarië's POV:

It has been around a month and a half since I first met with Gandalf and Thorin at The Prancing Pony. I stayed in Bree for a while but had visited Tom Bombadil and Goldberry in their cottage in the Old Forest. Gandalf had sent a message telling me of the exact date and location for the meeting with the Hobbit. I haven't been to Hobbiton in years so I've decided to arrive two days early, in order to familiarise myself with the ways of Hobbits. Hopefully, they won't be too intimidated by me as they can be when they see a 'big person'. Hobbits much prefer to keep to themselves and don't usually bother with adventures outside of their borders. Much like the Nymphs, in a way, but much more sociable and enjoyable to be around. They are very merry creatures and are even better hosts. I'm looking forward to seeing Master Baggins' reaction when he sees thirteen Dwarves making a mess of his dining room and clearing out his pantry. Another reason why I wish to get there early – I don't want to be left without a meal!

I trotted down a dusty path on a horse that Lord Elrond of Rivendell had gifted to me. He was a beautiful, honey colour and quite obedient. A lovely companion to have on such a journey. His name was Henry and he much reminded me of an old friend I made in Lothlorien, many years ago. I dismounted as I arrived at the Green Dragon inn where I had contacted a stableman, asking for permission to leave Henry there while I busied myself with preparing for the long journey ahead. I treated him with a sugar cube and said my goodbyes. I would be checking up on him daily to make sure that he was pleased with the hospitality of the Hobbits. I noticed two young girls staring at me and Henry.

"Hi, would you like to pet him?" I asked the shy girls.

"Yes, please," they replied in a sweet tone. They giggled as I lifted them each to have a better reach. Both content with his reactions. He is a soft one after all. After a good few minutes, I replaced them on the ground and said my farewells.

"Would you mind keeping him company over the next few days?" I asked in the tone that one usually takes up when speaking to children, "he needs someone to look after him and I think you two will be perfect." I finished with a smile that they easily returned while nodding their heads, ringlets bouncing as they did so.

As I wandered off towards Bag End, I saw a huge market where they were selling meats, fish, vegetables and other items. It looked as though it was from a children's story. It didn't take long to find the big, green door that Gandalf had told me to look out for. He had also left his mark on the door – probably for the Dwarves as they won't have ever come to a place like The Shire, let alone Hobbiton. I knocked on the door and waited to be greeted by Bilbo. The Hobbit who opened the door look shocked at my arrival but seemed to have been expecting me also.

"Good evening Master Baggins! I am Amarië, Nymph of the East, at your service." I bowed respectfully and he returned the gesture.

"A pleasure to meet you, Bilbo Baggins, at your service." I bowed my head in appreciation.

"I hope you don't mind my early arrival, I was hoping you'd allow me to rest here. If you do not wish me to stay then I shall look for a room at the Green Dragon."

"Oh, please stay here. You are more than welcome! I do have a few questions for you though as Gandalf did not explain very much yesterday." The poor Hobbit looked as if Gandalf had ambushed him and forced him into agreeing. Typical Gandalf. He is always looking for someone to take on an adventure.

"I will explain as much as I can, Master Baggins, but I shall have to leave most of the explaining to the leader of our company whom you shall meet very soon." Bilbo nodded and let me in. We sat and ate dinner and got along very well. He was extremely hospitable and very polite – much like my memory of Hobbits.

Later on in the night, we were sitting in the lounge and I was telling Bilbo one of my many adventures. He looked so fascinated by all the danger I had led myself into and the numerous battles I found myself stuck in.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, Amarië. What happened to the rest of your family, you don't seemed to have mentioned much about them. Are they in the East with the other Nymphs?"

"Of course I don't mind you asking, Bilbo! It is natural for people to be curious, especially Shire-folk like you that tend to stay within the safety of their homes and friends. My parents were banished from the Nymphian lands as they committed a serious crime in our culture. They were killed by wild wargs many, many years back. I was out hunting at the time with a friend of mine. It was a Wizard who found me sobbing in the forest. He took me in and when I grew older, I left to Lothlorien to be with the Elves for some time. I hope to travel back to the East one day and join my people once again but I doubt they would accept me."

"Really? But it's your parents that were banished, not you," Bilbo pointed out.

"Well, remember how I said she drank from a Golden Flower?" Bilbo nodded, listening carefully, "the reason why she did so was because it had healing powers and it prevented her and myself from dying. Those healing powers were in her bloodstream and passed down to me. They left her body when the wargs attacked as she lost too much blood for the Flower to do its work but the powers from the Flower are within me and will not disappear unless I lose too much blood like my mother did. All I have to do now is sing an incantation and my hands will glow, healing whoever is on the receiving end."

Bilbo's eyes had widened in amazement. "That's amazing! Would you mind demonstrating for me?" He added curiously.

I laughed at his eagerness to see the magic. "Why of course I can, Bilbo." I began to sing the incantation.

_"__Flower gleam and glow, _

_Let your power shine,_

_Make the clock reverse, _

_Bring back what once was mine. _

_Heal what has been hurt, _

_Change the fate's design. _

_Save what has been lost, _

_Bring back what once was mine._

_What once was mine."_

My hands let off a golden glow and slowly died out after I finished singing.

"That was beautiful," he whispered, making me giggle.

"You must promise not to mention this to the Dwarves, I don't want them constantly asking me to heal every cut and scratch they receive."

The days passed quickly and the meeting with the Dwarves was minutes away. I assume they'll start arriving soon at the sun is just setting past the hills of The Shire. It was a beautiful sight seeing the twinkling lights at the market where few people remained. Orbs of yellow and orange light were dotted across Hobbiton in each little hole. I could very easily leave in Hobbiton. The folk are nice, the scenery is beautiful and the peace and quiet is very calming. However, my peace and quiet was soon disturbed by a loud knocking at the door. Our guests had begun to arrive.

I stood in the corridor behind Bilbo as he opened the door. Standing there was a muscular Dwarf who no doubt scared the other Hobbits that were simply tending to their gardens or talking to a neighbour.

The Dwarf bowed. "Dwalin, at your service."

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours."

"D-do we know each other?"

"No," Dwalin answered. He then noticed me and gave me a near judging look. He clearly thought I was an elf.

"Amarië, at your service, Master Dwalin," I knew I had to be polite even though he probably wouldn't.

"And you, lass. Now, more importantly, which way, laddie? Is it down here?"

"I-is what down where?" Poor Bilbo looked so flustered as he asked this to the rather intimidating Dwarf.

"Supper. He said there'd be food, and lots of it."

"H-He said? Who said?"

"Never mind that, Bilbo. Just go down that corridor there, Master Dwalin," I followed close behind the Dwarf as Bilbo stood there, unsure of what to do next. The heavy-looking Dwarf sat in Bilbo's seat and tucked in to Bilbo's plate of food.

"Mmmm. … Very good, this. Anymore?"

"What? Uh, oh, yes, yes. Help yourself." He offered the Dwarf a plate of bread rolls. I made sure to take a couple before they disappeared into the Dwarf's stomach.

"So, Master Dwalin," I started, "do you know of the arrivals of your kin?"

"I have not seen many of them, of late. But I heard from our leader, he has been visiting our kin in the Iron Hills."

"I see, I presume he was there to visit Dain Ironfoot?"

"And why would someone like you know of such a Dwarf?"

"If by 'someone like me' you mean a 'dainty woman' then I suggest you reconsider your thoughts on myself. Just before the events in Erebor, I had been staying in the Iron Hills in the midst of travelling. I learnt about him also from a Wizard who taught me much of what I know about the world."

Before I could continue, there was a loud knocking at the door. Another Dwarf had arrived.

"That'll be the door," Dwalin informed Bilbo in a very menacing tone.

Bilbo left to answer the door and both myself and Dwalin rose to greet whoever was at the door. I couldn't hear their conversation but saw a cheerful looking Dwarf, with a long white beard.

"Oh, hello there, My Lady. A Nymph, I presume?"

"You presumed correctly, Master Dwarf. Amarië, at your service."

"And Balin at yours," he smiled a bright smile at me as we exchanged pleasantries. I was fond of him already.

"Oh, ha ha! Evening, brother." He greeted to his younger brother, Dwalin.

"Oh, by my beard, you are shorter and wider than last we met."

"Wider, not shorter. Sharp enough for both of us." They then stood silent for a second and then banged their foreheads together, making me chuckle at the brotherly banter they threw between one another. Bilbo, on the other hand, was less than pleased and actually looked quite shocked at the gesture.

"Don't worry, Bilbo. It's just a Dwarvish custom between immediate family members," I whispered to Bilbo.

Balin and Dwalin then had an in depth discussion about food but Bilbo was very worrisome about having these unknown Dwarves in his home. The thought has only just occurred to me but maybe I should have told Bilbo that the other members of the company were all Dwarves. And there would be thirteen of them arriving. Oops.

"It's not that I don't like visitors; I-I like visitors as much as the next Hobbit, but I do like to know them before they come visiting."

I felt sorry for the Hobbit, being ignored is never fun. Balin and Dwalin were still having a discussion and, for the most part, it was indistinguishable but I did hear something related to cheese and mould. Interesting. Despite being ignored, Bilbo's attempt to get them to listen to him did not cease.

"The thing is, um-" Still no reply from the two Dwarves.

"The thing is, um, I, I don't know either of you," Dwalin threw a chunk of cheese behind him but still, Bilbo carried on, "not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I uh, but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry."

This last comment caused them to turn and Balin spoke two words, "apology accepted."

Another knock came at the door and Bilbo went to open the door, a look of pure annoyance on his face. He clearly did not expect there to be many people arriving tonight. On the other side of the door were two much younger Dwarves who looked quite excited to be going on an adventure. The dark haired one had quite a mischievous grin on his face and had a twinkle in his eyes – he was definitely the younger of the two.

"Fili." The blonde one said.

"And Kili." The darker haired one followed.

"At your service." They said this in unison and bowed together.

"You must be Mr. Boggins." Kili stated, in an enthusiastic tone.

"Nope, you can't come in, you've come to the wrong house." Bilbo tried to close the door but Kili stopped it with his foot – typical Dwarven behaviour.

"What? Has it been cancelled?" Kili asked with a flash of worry across his face.

Fili then responded to this, "no one told us."

"Canc-? No nothing's been cancelled." Bilbo retorted.

They barged in after hearing this, Kili saying, "Well, that's a relief." As soon as they had entered the house, they saw me. And went silent, clearly not expecting to be greeted by someone besides Bilbo.

"Good evening Masters Fili and Kili, I am Amarië, Nymph of the East. At your service."

"Good evening, My Lady," Fili took my hand and gently kissed it. What a gentleman. I giggled to myself at this and turned to Kili.

"Well?" This caused him to turn a dark shade of red. Laughing at his embarrassment, I took their weapons from them and placed them besides mine.

"Careful with these, Amarië, I just had 'em sharpened." Fili warned me with a smirk. He was definitely fond of his intricately designed weapons. I read the Khuzdul markings upon the blades, intrigued by each phrase. I was distracted by the sound of boots being scraped on a chest which, not to my surprise, was exactly what Kili was doing. Bilbo was going to have a long night tonight.

"It's nice, this place. D'you you do it yourself, Bilbo?" He asked the Hobbit as he spread mud over the wooden chest.

"That's my mother's glory box, can you please not do that?!" I had a feeling he would be saying that sentence a few too many times tonight.

Dwalin and Balin then came through to meet the boys. "Fili, Kili, come on, give us a hand."

Kili looked at him almost in awe, "Mister Dwalin."

"Let's shove this in the hallway, otherwise we'll never get everyone in."

"Ev-everyone? How many more are there?" Again, the poor Hobbit had a surprise coming for him. If this was how he would react with only four Dwarves in the house, imagine what he'll be like with all the others. Just as I thought this, the doorbell rang. 'Great, here come some more.'

Bilbo was getting frustrated by the number of surprise visitors he was receiving. I had expected him to be shocked at first but had assumed that he'd adjust to the thought of Dwarves. Clearly I was wrong.

"There's nobody home. Go away, and bother somebody else. There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If- if- If this is some clothead's idea of a joke, I can only say, it is in very poor taste." As he opened the door, a huge pile of eight Dwarves came tumbling down, leaving just one character standing. "Gandalf."

**Thanks for reading! This one was a bit longer than expected but I hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to try and make this an accurate representation of both the book and the film so you will find bits that had been changed for the movie. Leave a review!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	3. The Company

Amarië's POV:

There were twelve dwarves currently in Bag End. Thorin had not yet come and so would be missing out on a lot of food. Dwarves aren't overly greedy people but they do have a weakness for food. Particularly meat. I had learned of this in the many years I spent studying the different races found in Middle Earth. Hobbits, being a quiet and homely race, were never prepared for a band of Dwarves to arrive out of the blue. Bilbo had clearly thought that our company consisted of myself, Gandalf and maybe an Elf or two. We were all in Bilbo's dining room and I had sat myself between Fili and Kili. Despite my being a Nymph, I was welcomed into their company and I befriended them all very quickly.

Laughter and joy filled the Hobbit's home as we told stories and jokes while eating most of the food within Bilbo's pantry. It would be a while before we ate like this again so why not go all out? Fili left the room about 10 minutes ago and came back with 6 pints of ale in hand.

"Who wants an ale? There you go." Fili shouted as he walked across the table. I found myself giggling at Bilbo's face. Never before had I seen someone look so lost for words. Kili and I shared a look as Dwalin poured ale into Oin's ear trumpet. The unsuspecting Dwarf then blew it out, ale spilling onto the table and splashing onto various food items. This caused the two of us to laugh even harder.

On the other end of the table, Bofur yelled, "Bombur! Catch!" and threw a boiled egg into the large Dwarf's mouth. Not to my surprise, he caught it with ease. We all cheered at his success and then chugged on some ale. Dwarves being Dwarves, they spilt some ale down onto their beards but I was not as messy and did not spill a drop. Loud burps then left everyone's mouths but Ori's was the most impressive of them all. Feeling cheeky, I stood and said, "Is that all you've got, Ori? I think I need to teach you a lesson or two!" I then let out a very unladylike burp that silenced the room. As I finished, the company burst into laughter and cheered at my skills. Fili and Kili patted my back as I sat down in appreciation for my talent in burping.

"Very impressive, Amarië!" Fili said to me. I giggled as I replied, "It'd be rude of me to join a company of Dwarves without showing my talents!" We laughed at this and got up to go into a different room where Bilbo was getting quite worked up.

"Excuse me, that is a doily, not a dishcloth!" He scolded Bofur, as he took the small cloth from the Dwarf's hands.

"But it's full of holes!" he replied, clearly a bit confused by the item he had been using to clear some of the food from his face.

"It's supposed to look like that, it's crochet."

"Oh, and a wonderful game it is too, if you got the balls for it." I felt a pang of sympathy for Bilbo because he was quite clearly out of his comfort zone but even so, myself, Fili and Kili had to laugh at Bofur's comment.

Bilbo stormed out of the room to go and let out his anger to Gandalf. I moved closer to the doorway and busied myself with a few little tasks so that I could overhear some of their conversation.

"Bebother and confusticate these dwarves!"

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?"

"What's the matter? I'm surrounded by dwarves. What are they doing here?"

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them." Gandalf's attempt to reassure Bilbo was unsuccessful as the Hobbit vented out his feelings and how the Dwarves had ruined his home.

"I don't want to get used to them. The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet, they've pillaged the pantry. I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they're doing in my house!" Before Gandalf, could answer, Ori walked up to Bilbo and asked him a simple question, "Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?"

Fili strode up to him and said, "Here you go Ori, give it to me." The blonde Dwarf then proceeded to take the plate from the younger Dwarf's hands and threw it to Kili and spun and caught it and then threw it into the dining room where Nori caught it and passed it along to another Dwarf. Bilbo ran after the plate and saw Bofur, Gloin, Dori and Bifur rhythmically banging their cutlery on the table and stamping their feet as well to create a catchy beat. Obviously, Bilbo was not happy about this and became so stressed and flustered he needed to sit down but still carried on trying to put an end to the havoc that would most likely ensue.

"Excuse me, that's my mother's West Farthing crockery, it's over a hundred years old! And can you please not do that? You'll blunt them!"

"Ooh, d'hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!" Bofur shouted in his Celtic accent. Kili then began to sing,

_Blunt the knives, bend the forks_

Fili then joined in,

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks_

Despite the horrified look of Bilbo's face I joined in with their merry song,

_Chip the glasses and crack the plates_

The rest of the Dwarves were now joining in with the song and were throwing plates and cutlery around, kicking them as though it were a game.

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

_Cut the cloth and tread on the fat_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor_

_Splash the wine on every door_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole_

_When you've finished, if any are whole_

_Send them down the hall to roll!_

Bofur had grabbed a tin flute from inside his coat and played a little tune to accompany the sound of us banging around with Bilbo's plates and bowls and knives and forks. As it neared to an end, we all shouted the final lyric,

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"_

We all laughed and cheered at our improvised song and revealed to Bilbo the work we had gotten done. Even though Dwarves can be messy people, they also know how to have a little fun and clear up after themselves. Our merriment was soon ended by a loud thumping at the door. The room went silent.

"He's here."

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I wrote it to be pretty close to the scene in the movie. The next chapter will focus on Thorin and the quest. Also, thank you SO MUCH for 180 views! I never expected people to read this and actually enjoy it. Yay! It'd also be pretty cool if you read my other fanfic called Fighting Beside You, Always. It's based on Lord of the Rings and I'd love it if you guys read it! **

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	4. The Arrival Of Thorin Oakenshield

Amarië's POV:

That loud knock at the door could have only been one person. Thorin Oakenshield. My heart raced even though I had met him before. Something was different this time around. Something had changed. Maybe it was just the way the atmosphere of the room suddenly went from cheeriness and laughter to a state of worry and anxiousness. The only one of us that seemed at all relaxed was Gandalf. Although that may just be due to the fact that he had been smoking his pipe. Every single one of the Dwarves got up and walked to the door. Bilbo opened it but Gandalf was the one to greet the Dwarven King.

"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." His voice was low, but still rang clearly across the room. I saw him smile in my direction. Turning my head, I saw Fili and Kili grinning next to me. I was confused for a second but then remembered that they had called him 'Uncle Thorin' when they talked about him earlier.

"Mark? There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago!" Wrong. Even in the daylight you could see the mark Gandalf had etched upon Bilbo's door. It shone brightly whenever someone walked past it, leading to nosy Hobbits asking questions.

"There is a mark; I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf said to Bilbo as we motioned his arm in Thorin's direction. His smile weakened when he looked at the Hobbit. I could tell that Thorin was going to be fairly hostile to Bilbo on this journey.

"So, this is the Hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?" He began to circle Bilbo as he interrogated him.

"Pardon me?"

"Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Oh, Bilbo," I whispered out loud, putting my hand to my forehead. That was one of the worst things he could have said.

"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin remarked. This was going to be a long night.

"Evening, Master Oakenshield," I greeted him, trying to keep the tone light, "I trust you had a safe journey."

"Yes, thank you, Miss Amarië. Would you mind fixing me some supper, if it has not all been eaten?"

"Of course, Thorin. I'll see if there's anything left. To be perfectly honest though, I highly doubt there is much left." Myself, Thorin and a few others chuckled at the remark. As I turned, Kili was smiling and he winked at me. I tutted and rolled my eyes at him, testing his ability to hold back his laughter.

Grabbing a plate, I found two bread rolls and filled a bowl up with some stew. Not much compared to the huge feast that had been spread across the dining table but nonetheless, it was food. I took it through for him and I gestured for one of the Dwarves to get him a pint of ale. He nodded in appreciation and I took my seat in between Kili and Bombur.

Balin and Dwalin proceeded to ask Thorin of his journey before coming to Bag End.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?"

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?"

"They will not come. They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." The Dwarves all had a solemn look their faces. Balin looked as though he expected this of the dwarves from the Iron Hills.

Gandalf pulled out a map and turned to the Hobbit who was looking more worried as each minute passed. "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." He fetched a candle and brought it closer to the map.

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."

As Bilbo was holding the candle above Gandalf's shoulder, he could read the text written beside the drawing of their home. "The Lonely Mountain." He said in a low voice.

Gloin then spoke up, "Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time."

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

Beast. Not a good word to use in front of an already worried Hobbit. Well done, Oin.

"Uh, What beast?"

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals-"

Not helping, Bofur.

"Yes, I know what a dragon is."

"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarvish iron right up his jacksie." Ori was the youngest, least experienced of the Dwarves. You could tell.

"Sit down!" his elder brother scolded him and pulled on his arm to bring him back onto his seat.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest." Balin had a point, an army against a dragon would struggle to fight, let alone thirteen Dwarves. And a Hobbit. And a Wizard. And me.

"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last Dwarf!" Fili's optimism proved he would make a good leader should anything happen to Thorin.

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." I stifled a laugh, based on personal experience I knew Gandalf had never come into close quarters with any dragon.

"Yes, Gandalf. Please do tell us of the many dragons you have destroyed in your time." I said to Gandalf with a smirk on my face. He stuttered at this, trying to think of a way to say he had never killed a dragon before. The Dwarves grew impatient and started shouting.

Thorin rose his voice to end their bickering and shouting. "_Shazara!_ (Silence!) If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? _Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!"_

They all cheered as their King spoke valiantly.

"You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." I reminded the company.

"That, my dear Amarië, is not entirely true." Gandalf twiddled his fingers and produced a key. Thorin's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"How came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf handed Thorin the key as we all looked on in amazement. This was our way in to the mountain. This was how we would reclaim Erebor. Our quest was dependent on this iron key, engraved with Dwarven markings.

"If there is a key, there must be a door." Fili said with hope tinting his voice. The others murmured in agreement.

"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." Gandalf explained to us, pointing at the map.

"There's another way in!" Kili was so hopeful and so excited to hear that they were even closer to getting into the mountain.

"That's if we can find it. Dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer must lie hidden somewhere in that map and we do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can. This task will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. If we are careful and clever, then we just might stand a chance." The others looked at me as I spoke, their faces showed they were listening intently to my words of wisdom.

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori said, causing us to look at Bilbo.

"Do you mean me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material."

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."

"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is." Gandalf casted a large shadow over the room, silencing us all. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find another member for this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this."

"Very well. We will do it your way. Give him the contract." Thorin ordered Balin, who appeared to be in charge of this sort of thing.

He then informed Bilbo of the contents of the contract. "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

Bilbo then read the contract, his eyes widening as he read it. "Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations ... evisceration … incineration?"

"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."

Uh, oh. He was getting pale and looked like he might faint. Great, that's all we need right now.

"Think furnace with wings."

"Bofur, I think that's enough." I warned him, able to predict what would happen next. He ignored me. Typical. "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo tried as hard as possible to prevent himself from fainting but sadly failed and just murmured one word before falling to the ground. "Nope."

"Very helpful, Bofur." The Dwarf just grinned at me as I got up to help the poor Hobbit to his feet.

If this was what Bilbo was like when we were just talking about Smaug then I don't want to know what happens when he actually sees the dragon and his fire. Once Bilbo was awake, Gandalf tried to talk some sense into him but it had appeared that we had lost our burglar. The atmosphere of the company had been brought down by Bilbo's unwilling nature.

Walking into the sitting room, I heard them humming as soft tune that I recognised. It was a song I had heard many Dwarves sing. I decided to join in and stood next to Balin, who saw that I knew the song and gave me a small smile that I returned.

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long-forgotten gold_

_The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning in the night_

_The fire was red, it flaming spread_

_The trees like torches blazed with light_

After we finished we sat in silence for a short while, the older Dwarves remembering the day the dragon came and the younger Dwarves thinking of the stories they were told when they were younger about Erebor and its glory. Slowly, we left the room and dispersed across Bag End. I decided to go outside and sit on Bilbo's front porch, watching the moonlight and stars. Fili and Kili joined me and we spoke of the quest that lay ahead of us.

"I really do hope Bilbo changes his mind about the whole thing. I have grown so used to him these past few days; it'd be wrong to go without him." I said to the boys. They both patted me gently on the back.

"Don't worry, Amarië. Bilbo will be there at the Green Dragon tomorrow morning. Just you wait." Fili comforted me. I sighed.

"I do hope so, Fili. I do hope so." I leaned backwards until I was on my back, looking straight up at the sky. They followed suit and began to ask me questions of how I came to be on this quest.

Kili started with, "So, how did Gandalf find you for the quest?"

"Well, I lived in Lothlorien for many years, until I was of age and I ventured off to find a decent place to live. The Elves of Lorien aren't as bad as their kin in Mirkwood but one gets tired of seeing the same people that do the same things every day for a good 22 years or so. I had many lessons in fighting and I learned much of the world outside of Lothlorien and I learned a lot about my people and the way they live. But I was never allowed to venture past the borders of Lorien. I wanted to see Middle Earth and explore the lands for myself. So, I left and ended up becoming friends with two Wizards. Due to…certain circumstances. I was invited to meetings of the five Wizards and so I know all of them. A long way down the line, I decided to travel to Rivendell. I was staying in an inn in Bree and ran into a bit of a predicament. Gandalf was there and watched as I dealt with some drunken men who were attempting to make an advance on me."

They gasped in horror at this. Dwarves found this kind of behaviour to be very offensive.

"You need not worry, I handled the situation like a true lady. I fought them and knocked them unconscious after two punches each." I half-laughed as I remembered the day like it was yesterday. "That was when Gandalf decided I would make a good addition to your company. He already knew of my capabilities on the battlefield but did not believe I could cope under pressure too well. He approached me just after I knocked them down and asked me if I was looking for an adventure to which I obviously said yes because who wouldn't want to go adventuring?!" We all laughed as I continued to explain about how I made my way to Bag End – including beating Thorin in a sparring competition.

We laughed and chatted for another hour when I began to yawn.

"Tired, are we Amarië?"

"Yes, I am Master Kili. And if you don't mind I'm going off to bed before I fall asleep on you or your brother!"

"Haha, see you in the morning!" They called to me, winking in sync with one another.

If the quest continued like this then it would be very enjoyable indeed.

**_Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!" - _****To arms! To arms!**

**_Shazara!_**** - Silence!**

**Thanks for reading! This was quite a long one but I hope you enjoyed it. Please go read my Legolas/Idrial fanfic called 'Fighting Beside You, Always' I'm enjoying writing that one. Also, thanks for 200 reads! That is so fantastic and I could not be happier right now! Well, I could be living in Middle Earth but, y'know...complications.**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	5. On The Road

Amarië's POV:

Early in the morning, I arose. My eyes were sore from sleeping and I struggled to fight the urge to fall back to sleep. I got up and went downstairs into the kitchen to find something for breakfast. Hopefully Bilbo had something hidden away in his pantry. There were Dwarves dotted around bag End, still sleeping soundly. My mind ticked with many ways to try and wake up Fili and Kili but I could not settle on just one thing. I stepped into the now bare pantry and looked into the top cupboards where the Dwarves could not reach. Perhaps Bilbo stored items up there just in case a situation like this were to arise. It turns out, he did. Perfect. As I prepared a small snack, Fili came up behind me and poked my sides. It took a lot of strength to not scream. I pushed him playfully and whisper-shouted,

"Oi! You stupid Dwarf!" He laughed as quietly as possible and stole some food from my plate, "Did I say you could have that?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Yes." He replied giggling.

"Right, I must have forgotten that I said that then."

"Oh, yes. You must have."

"Hey, I have a plan to wake up Kili."

"Oh, yeah? Let's hear it." He smiled mischievously and we talked for a short while, creating the ultimate plan.

We had to wait though before we put the plan into action. We wanted to make sure that Kili was the last Dwarf to get up so Fili and I went around waking everyone up and telling them of the plan. The only one against it was Thorin who, despite wishing for us to grow up, proceeded to go outside to leave the rest of us to our childish ways.

Initiating the plan, I crept over to where Kili slept and lay down beside him. I struggled to stifle a laugh and began our little prank. I brought my hand up to his face and gently caressed his cheek. He smiled in his sleep and murmured something indistinguishable. I continued to stroke his face and whispered to him,

"Kili, it's time to wake up, my love."

The Dwarves were all struggled to hold in their laughter and I was finding it even harder. Despite my need to laugh, I carried on. He then let out a small moan of pleasure and said,

"Not yet, let us sleep a little longer."

"We must get up, my love. It is almost time for us to leave." I made sure to speak in a soft, gentle tone. I wanted it to sound as realistic as possible.

"If you insist, my beautiful Amarië." As he began to open his eyes, I got up and went to stand with Fili before he saw me. Kili's eyes were half-open as he stood up and saw us all standing there.

"How was your sleep, Kili?" I said with a sly smile on my face. He blushed a deep shade of red. "I presume it was fully satisfying." I emphasised on the word 'satisfying' in hope of getting an even better reaction out of him.

"I-I-I slept okay, thank you." His face was still tinted red as he looked at me. I struggled to hold in my laughter at his embarrassment.

"You sounded like you enjoyed it." His brother teased, causing myself the Dwarves in the surrounding area to chuckle. Never had I realised how much enjoyment one could get from fake flirting in their sleep.

"I-I-I did?" The young Dwarf questioned.

"Oh, yes. You were saying something about a girl. Couldn't quite catch her name but you said she was beautiful. Must be pretty amazing, don't you think, Amarië?" Fili turned and grinned at me.

"Definitely. The way Kili described her was just enough to make me jealous of the girl. Although, her name did sound a lot like…mine. Must be a pure coincidence. Right, Kili?" I half-smirked at the worried Dwarf.

He stammered while trying to answer me. Must have been some good fake flirting. My acting skills were better than I remembered. "Um, y-yes. Must be a, uh coincidence." He coughed at the end of the sentence, as though trying to hide something. Fili picked up on it straight away.

"Trying to hide something from us, brother dearest?"

"Oh, no, no. I'm not hiding anything at all." Hah, liar.

"Well, if you will excuse me, I am going to speak with Thorin about the journey. Goodbye, Fili. Goodbye, Kili." I smiled at them and as I stepped past Kili I whispered, "Goodbye, my love." And made sure to touch his forearm. Then we couldn't hold it in any longer. Fili burst out laughing and Nori, who was standing close by laughed under his breath. I giggled as Kili figured out what had happened. His red face turned to fake anger and he chased me around Bag End.

"I'll get you back for this, Nymph! If it's the last thing I do!"

I laughed as I ran and then hid behind a wall. Kili fell for my trick and jogged past me. Now was time for my attack. I sprang and jumped onto his back, giggling while doing so. Kili was laughing too. There was a myriad of laughs behind us coming from the remaining Dwarves of our company. I soon jumped back down and said to him,

"Now I must go and speak to Thorin. It was a pleasure, my love." I put emphasis on the last word and laughed as I left the room to speak with Thorin. He was sitting where I had last night, looking across the hills. I noticed the age in his face as I stepped down and sat beside him.

"I just came out here to speak with you about this journey. If Bilbo does sign the contract, can you promise me something?"

"It depends. If it involves my swearing that no harm will come to him then I make no promises."

"Oh, no, it has nothing to do with Bilbo's safety. As much as I would like to think that he will be safe, I know that is impossible. It was more to do with your attitude."

"What about it?"

"Well, I just want you to go easy on him. He is new to this sort of life and is very doubtful of himself. I feel it would do him some good if you weren't too hard on him. It will take him a while to adjust to the idea of battle so, please, just be relatively kind to him. For his sake."

"Fine. If the Hobbit means that much to you then I shall attempt to show my kinder side."

"Thank you, Thorin. Also, it might help if you call him 'Bilbo' rather than 'the Hobbit'. Just a thought." I got up and went back inside to collect all of my things together.

Sometime during the early morning, we left for the Green Dragon Inn where we would be waiting for Bilbo. Thorin had written on the contract to be there for eleven o'clock and no late, else we'd leave without him. It was almost eleven and there was no sign of the Hobbit. Spectacular. I was giving Henry one last groom when Ori came up to me.

"Oh, hello, Ori. How are you?"

"Um, I'm good thank you, Miss. How is your horse?"

"Oh, he's fine, thank you. And please call me, Amarië. You don't need to worry about manners with me!" I giggled, letting him know I was sincere. He returned with a sweet smile. Ori began to pet Henry, who took a liking to him straightaway.

"He likes you, Ori. Normally, he's not particularly fond of Dwarves." This made him smile even more. I could tell he had grown up without receiving much praise, else my compliments would have affected him less.

"Saddle up! We are to leave shortly!" Thorin called out to the company.

"Wait, wait!" We heard a familiar voice cry. Bilbo. He ran to Balin, handing him the contract while panting. "I signed it."

"Everything appears to be in order," Balin said, "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield!"

Setting off proved to be enjoyable. Bilbo had a reaction to being on a pony and demanded we turned back to get a handkerchief. Bofur had ended up ripping off a part of his tunic and tossing it to Bilbo, who caught it in disgust. If that was how Bilbo reacted to a simple piece of material then I cannot wait to see what happens later on in our adventure. I wanted to make sure that I spoke to most members of the company in order to earn their trust. Dwarves are quite an untrusting people. They find it difficult to trust someone of a different race or someone who is unrelated to them. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kili staring at me. Strange. He looked away as soon as I noticed but I couldn't help but think about the gesture. Dismissing it, I continued making conversation with Balin. Who had many great stories to tell about Erebor and its vast wealth.

**Thanks for reading! And thank you SO MUCH for 500 reads! That is honestly so mind-blowing that there are 500 people who have read my writing. I hope you like the little prank scene with Amarië and Kili - I loved writing it! Do check out my other fanfic, Fighting Beside You, Always as I am really enjoying writing that one. Also, I've been thinking about getting a Beta, if anyone wouldn't mind checking through my first drafts for me then that would be fantastic; I had someone point a few of my mistakes so I don't really want to have to worry about that anymore so do message me if you are interested!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	6. Thorin's Past

Amarië's POV:

We rode for many hours until the sun began to set. It looked a very pretty scene and I was content with how things were going so far. The company had begun to settles in a small clearing. There was an overhang in the cliff above so it gave us some shelter from any oncoming rain. We also had a good advantage point for looking out at the forest below. Most of the company were fast asleep but Bilbo was standing by his pony, Myrtle, 'secretly' giving her an apple. His action was disturbed by a loud screeching noise that awoke Fili and Kili from their light sleep.

"What was that?" He asked the young Dwarves, slowly running to them with a very worried look on his face. Kili replied solemnly,

"Orcs." This caused Thorin, who had also dozed off, to jerk awake upon hearing his nephew say the words of his enemy.

"Orcs?" Bilbo questioned.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili explained while smoking on his pipe he had just lit.

"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood." His younger brother carried on, making the Hobbit even more worried and scared. They just laughed it off, finding scaring the poor Hobbit funny. I tutted at their childish behaviour. I often acted in a childish manner but for some reason felt different when it came to the Hobbit. Maybe it was because of his innocence of war and death. Or maybe it was just a simple case of empathy. Or maybe I'm actually growing up…No. Definitely the empathy thing.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" Thorin had stood up by now and snapped at his nephews. He must have seen a lot of battles involving orcs.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili apologised, hanging his head in shame at disappointing his uncle.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin walked over to the ledge and looked over the valley as Balin ambled towards the three of us.

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent…wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King."

The rest of the company had woken up and we were all looking towards our leader with respect. I had not heard of this story before and had also never faced Azog. Thorin truly was destined to be King Under the Mountain. Without a doubt.

Bilbo looked curious and asked, "But the pale orc? What happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin had been deeply affected by what happened in Moria and I could not blame him. He had been abandoned. Left to lead his kin without guidance from Thror or Thrain. He just had it thrust upon him.

Night soon passed and we were back on the road. Rain dropped down onto us, leaving the Dwarves in a very unpleasant mood.

"Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori shouted from the back of the company.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another Wizard."

"Any there any?" Bilbo asked him. I had told Bilbo that a Wizard had found me sobbing in the forest after my parents died but I never told him how many others there were. He must have assumed that it was Gandalf who found me.

"What?"

"Other Wizards?"

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names. Though I'm sure, Miss Amarië will know."

"Why thank you, Gandalf. Yes the two Blue Wizards are Alatar and Pallando. It was Alatar that found me all those years ago, Bilbo, before I went to Lothlorien."

"And who is the fifth?" Typical Hobbit. Always asking questions.

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown." Gandalf answered him.

"Is he a great Wizard or is he...more like you?" I struggled to hold in my laughter at the Hobbit's little outburst. Gandalf looked only slightly offended by Bilbo's comment but seemed to shrug it off as he went on to talk about Radagast.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world." This last statement gave Bilbo a very dark feeling. As though there was something evil lurking in the shadows, watching them.

**Thanks for reading! So this chapter focuses on Thorin's battle with Azog but I didn't include the full description of the flashback, only the speech because it would then reflect how the other Dwarves experienced the story from Balin's retelling. Also, the next chapter will be in the Trollshaws! Expect something cute between Kili&Amarië. Also, the names of the Blue Wizards has never been truly confirmed as they have two different names; Alatar and Pallando are how they are referred to in Valinor but they are also given names to which they are referred, supposedly, in Middle Earth. These are Morinehtar and Rómestámo but Tolkien never specified to which Wizard these names belong so I have just used their Valar names. If you want to know more about it then go to wiki/Blue_Wizards as I found it useful when talking to friends about it online.**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	7. What Is It? Trolls

Amarië's POV:

After another day of travelling, we came upon an old, abandoned farmhouse. The place looked as though it had been demolished by something. Or someone. Gandalf shared my concern and suggested we moved on but Thorin was insistent that we were safe here. This caused Gandalf to storm off to be alone. Wizards tend to enjoy the solitary life and especially when forced to cooperate with the stubbornness of the Dwarves. Bilbo found himself to be quite worried but Bofur had comforted him. Quite effectively as well.

It was evening now and the sun was beginning to set. Gandalf still hasn't returned but we are all distracted by our food, except for Fili and Kili who are looking after the ponies. I was sitting with Ori and Bilbo. Ori had become a close friend despite his initial shyness. He had been writing in a small, leather-bound book and had also been drawing. He allowed me to flick through the pages and then I came across images of the company.

"These are amazing, Ori! You are truly talented," I said in awe at his natural ability to draw. I continued looking through and I came across a beautiful drawing of me. I gasped. "Ori, this is…amazing." I struggled to find the correct word that would convey my true thoughts. Hopefully he could tell from my facial expression that I was near speechless. His abilities were definitely overlooked by his brothers and I felt sorry for him that he never received enough praise. I was soon distracted though by Bofur asking myself and Bilbo to take some food to Fili and Kili.

As we walked past some trees Bilbo asked me quite an out-of-the-blue question.

"So, Amarië, I wanted to ask you about something that happened in Bag End."

"Okay, what's that?"

"Well, it's just…I was wondering, um…"

"Come on, Bilbo! You can ask me anything."

"Well, it's about your burping. It's just not at all ladylike and I did not expect anything like that from you and I was just wondering if you always did that or if it was the Dwarves or did you just want to fit in with them or…" I broke him off by bursting into hysterical fits of laughter.

"Oh, Bilbo," I said between giggles, "That was honestly one of the best things someone has ever said to me in my entire lifetime," I then sighed before I could continue, "I burped simply because I wanted to. It may not be ladylike but let's face it, I'm not exactly the daintiest and most gentle of all women, am I?"

"I guess not,"

A few steps later, we came across the boys. They were staring ahead at the ponies.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, also picking up on their concerned faces.

"We're supposed to be looking out for the ponies." Kili told us.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili then added.

"We had sixteen."

"Now there's fourteen."

I gave Bilbo the bowl of soup and quickly surveyed the ponies that were missing. "Daisy and Bungo are missing."

The Hobbit was becoming very worried now, "Well, that's not good. That is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uhh, no. Let's not worry him. As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it." Fili gave him a look to tell him that this was the kind of thing the company had brought him along for.

"Well, uh...look, some-something big uprooted these trees."

"That was our thinking." Kili told him.

"Something very big, and possibly quite dangerous."

I spotted a light ahead of us and whispered, "Hey! There's a light. Over here! Stay down." We jogged over and hid behind a log. There was a fire and sitting around it were…

"Trolls." Fili, Kili and I ran closer to the fire and hid again. Bilbo was much more cautious and gasped in horror as he saw a giant mountain troll carrying two more ponies.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something."

"Yes; you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small." Kili took the bowls from him and Fili then pushed him gently, despite his protests.

"They'll never see you." Kili said in assurance, "It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you."

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl." The blonde Dwarf whispered to him. We immediately turned and ran back towards the company to alert them of the danger that our Hobbit was to get himself into.

We charged into the clearing and shouted at the same time,

"THEREWERESOMETROLLSANDTHEYSTOLETHEPONIESANDNOWBILBOISTHEREANDTHEYREPROBABLYGOINGTOEATHIM!"

All of the other Dwarves looked at us in pure confusion, clearly not hearing any coherent words from our previous sentence. Thorin was the first to speak up.

"Repeat that, and slower."

I took a deep breath and repeated our words, "There were some trolls and they stole four of the ponies and now Bilbo is there and they are probably going to eat him if we don't go. Now." Everyone stood and grabbed their weapons, we ran on and came to the clearing. Currently, Bilbo was being held by one of them and he looked as though he was covered in troll snot. Lovely. I turned to look at Kili who had been next to me but he was not there. He had run out into the clearing.

"Kili! No!" He hadn't heard me as I whispered to him.

"Drop him!" Kili shouted to the huge trolls that held Bilbo in a protective voice.

"You what?" One of them asked, in a very impolite tone and manner.

"I said, drop him." The troll holding Bilbo threw him down into Kili's arms and the rest of us burst through the trees and began to fight them. We slashed at their legs and Fili jumped upon Kili's shoulders and sliced one along its arm. I continued to hit them with my sword until everything went silent. They had caught Bilbo. He was being held by his arms and legs.

"Bilbo!" I shouted.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." One of them called down to us. Kili and I hesitated but eventually tossed our weapons to the floor.

They tied us all up into sacks or put us onto a spit. Well, all except for me.

"Ooh, look! They've got a lady in their little company."

"I bet she's tastier than the rest of 'em."

"Why don't we have a little taste?" The one holding me asked, looking at me with a hungry look on his face.

"Don't even try or I will rip your tongue from your throat." I threatened.

"And she's got a mouth on her! Interesting, no wonder these Dwarves keep 'er around! She probably keeps 'em entertained!" They all laughed at this and I took the opportunity to kick my leg and get free of the troll's grasp. It worked and I fell to the ground. I stood immediately and ran to find my sword. I swung defensively to keep them back. Then as I stepped back I realised there were only two trolls standing before me. I could have sworn there were three.

Then all of a sudden, I was lifted into the air by my foot. I dropped my sword and then hung there by my foot. The troll put me into a sack straight away and tossed me onto the pile of Dwarves. Hopefully I didn't weigh too much for them. The trolls proceeded to have a discussion about the best way to cook us all.

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly."

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage."

"Ooh, that does sound quite nice."

"Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone."

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." Bilbo shouted. Was he trying to reason with them?

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori called to him.

"Half-wits? What does that make us?" Bofur called back.

"Dim-wits!" I shouted.

The Hobbit stood and continued, "Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning."

"What about the seasoning?"

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

This led to many Dwarves calling Bilbo a traitor. Couldn't they see? He was stalling for time!

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?"

"Shut up, and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk."

"Uh, th-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um-"

"Yes? Come on." They urged him on, still unaware that he was trying to trick them.

"It's, uh-"

"Tell us the secret." They began to get impatient. If Bilbo didn't say something soon then they might catch on to what he was doing!

"Yes, yes, I'm telling you, the secret is to… skin them first!"

"Tom, get me the filleting knife."

"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

"`e's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy."

It then grabbed Bombur who looked extremely flustered at the thought of getting eaten.

"Not that one, he-he's infected! He's got worms in his…tubes." Good, Bilbo. This might stand a chance of working. The troll threw Bombur back onto the pile but luckily he didn't land straight on top of anyone like I had.

"In-in fact they all have, they're in-infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

"Parasites, did he say parasites?" questioned Oin.

Kili then shouted indignantly to Bilbo, "We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" I sighed and Thorin, who also picked up on what Bilbo was doing, kicked the Dwarves.

Oin tried to recover from his previous question, "I've got parasites as big as my arm."

Kili then shouted out, "Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!"

"What would you have us do, then, let 'em all go?"

"Well..." Bilbo hesitated.

No, they're not falling for it anymore!

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf. Gandalf had come to save us. Thank goodness.

He hit the rock and it split in half. Sunlight poured through and turned the trolls to stone. He came down and then freed us all from our sacks and from the spit. I thanked Bilbo for stalling for time. It did help us out a lot. Who knows what would've happened to Bombur if Bilbo hadn't stepped in.

Gandalf and Thorin were having a discussion and I stood beside Fili who had been stuck on the spit.

"How was it being cooked?" I asked cheekily.

"Wonderful. How was it being held by your ankle?"

"Even better." I giggled a little and he smiled at me. We turned our heads to Thorin who shouted out that we were to search for the troll's cave. Finding it did not take long as we just had to follow the awful stench.

I stumbled into the cave, trying to cover my nose but the smell was not blocked out. Admiring the swords, I picked up one that looked about my side. It had similar markings to mine. Dwarvish, Elvish, Common Tongue and…Nymphian. I gasped in astonishment that this was a Nymphian blade. A blade forged by my people. I unsheathed it and held it carefully. The blade itself was definitely not of Elvish make. I took it to Gandalf and asked him to confirm my suspicions.

"Why yes, Amarië. This is of Nymphian make. But why on Earth would three trolls be in possession of it? Hmm, well as this sword was made by your kin it is only right that you keep it."

"Are you sure, Gandalf?"

"Quite sure, Amarië, quite sure." I nodded and walked outside carrying it. Very few Dwarves had waited outside, I saw Fili standing there with Balin but Kili was nowhere to be seen. Then I heard the sound of approaching footsteps and whipped around with an arrow set on my bow. It was Kili and he was standing with his hands by his face.

"Calm down, Amarië, I was only going to surprise you!" He laughed.

"And was that your attempt at revenge? Because if it was, then I am not at all scared for what you have in store for me. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Nymphs have enhanced hearing so I heard you as you loudly came running." I smiled sarcastically at him and turned back to face Fili and Balin who smirked and chuckled at me. I giggled and then playfully screamed as Kili picked me up all of a sudden.

"Put me down!"

"Never!" He shouted back to me. I tried to squirm free but his grip was too strong. He felt me struggling and laughed. Why did Dwarves have to have such strength? Thorin emerged from the cave entrance holding an Elven sword. He glared at me and Kili but when he saw our laughter, he smiled a little, amused at our playful natures.

A noise came from afar. It was leaves rustling as someone brushed against them. My head faced where it came from and I stopped struggling. Kili, thinking something was wrong, replaced me on the floor. He looked worried.

"Amarië, what is it?" I spun round slowly to face him, my face a blank canvas and then I put my leg behind his ankle and pulled. He tripped and fell into a pile of leaves. Fili and I laughed so hard at him.

"Okay, I definitely need to get you back!"

"Sorry, Kili. Let me help you up," I was still laughing slightly and bent forward to hold out my hand. He held it but then pulled me down onto him.

"Hey!" I shouted. He was laughing and Fili was bent over in a fit of laughter. Eventually we all stopped laughing and I just looked at Kili. "That was mean. Very mean."

He smirked and winked as I got up; this time I didn't offer my hand to him and he acted fake offended.

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I've been enjoying writing this story and I'm not sure whether to write something from Kili's perspective soon or whether to keep on writing it as Amarië. I have an idea for Kili in Rivendell but I'm not sure so let me know what you think! I don't know if I can get a chapter to you tomorrow but I'll try and start writing one for Friday! Also, we reached 1000 views! Wow! That is honestly way better than I ever imagined so thank you so much for being so interested in this story!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	8. The Hidden Valley

Amarië's POV:

After finishing in the troll hoard, we moved on. It had rained earlier, leaving the ground moist and slightly squidgy. Lovely. Bofur and I were happily joking when I felt someone push me head first into a huge puddle. Mud filled my mouth. I spat most of it out but was left with a nasty aftertaste. Kili. This was his revenge, no doubt. Well played Dwarf, well played. There was still some mud left in my mouth and my hair had become drenched. I was beginning to regret removing the braid that had kept my hair neatly in one place, leaving it flowing free. There was mud caked upon my face and I got myself up slowly, still dripping. Laughter burst from everyone in the company, including Thorin and Dwalin, to my surprise. I stood with a fake angry look on my face. I stomped my way over to Kili who was trying to conceal his amusement. The others weren't holding back. I fake glared at him and spat some of the mud onto the floor by his feet. The laughter had softened, allowing me to 'shout' at the Dwarf Prince.

"Kili! How dare you! How dare you pull the perfect prank! Honestly, I am rubbing off on you!" I giggled before coughing up a bit more mud. Disgusting. My hair was stuck to the side of my face and Kili smirked at me.

"Well, you should have known there would be consequences for the little trick in Bag End!" I giggled even more and then stepped a little closer to him.

"Since you planned the perfect revenge, I am obliged to do…this!" I flicked my hair at his face, splashing muddy water across it. Fili laughed at his brother and the other Dwarves chuckled at our immaturity.

"Now," I began, "I am going to the little stream to try and wash some of this mud off my face!" I turned, making sure both Fili and Kili got some mud on their faces, and walked off to a small clearing in which there was a stream with clean water where I could try and clear my face of the mud.

When I arrived, I rinsed my mouth out to get rid of the last of the dirt. There was still a horrible taste lingering in my mouth but the water didn't help to eliminate it. I took the majority of my clothes off and set them in the sun to dry. I was left wearing a thin, white tunic that went to the middle of my thighs. I began to scrub my skin clear of the mud. I dangled my legs off the edge of the bank and kicked them through the water. It felt relaxing to just sit there in the sun. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift away for a few seconds. My peace was then shattered as I remembered of the quest. The company were waiting for me, I could not slow us all down.

I stood up and turned to get my clothes but stopped. They had disappeared. My clothes were gone.

"Who could've...?" I said to myself out loud. The realisation then hit me. Kili. That damn Dwarf had gone and stolen my clothes. I have to give him credit though, this is a pretty good prank. Not having to carry anything, I walked back to where the Dwarves had been before I left. When they heard me, they all turned around to face me and undoubtedly laugh at my misfortune. Instead they all stared. It's not everyday that you see a half-naked woman walking around.

"I came for my clothes. I don't even need to bother asking who took them so I'll just ask where they are."

In unison, they pointed up to a certain branch in a tree.

"Bloody fantastic." I cursed under my breath before beginning my ascent into the tree to retrieve my clothes. I was wearing some undergarments beneath my tunic so I didn't have to worry as much about exposing myself to the band of Dwarves standing below me. After a bit of climbing and the odd splinter here and there, I got my clothes back and went off alone to put them back on.

Then a noise came. It sounded almost like a cry for help; or what is it a danger to us? The Dwarves must have heard it as well as Thorin shouted for us to follow where we heard the sound coming from. A loud voice then emerged from between the trees.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" It sounded a lot like…

"Radagast!" Gandalf said cheerfully as he saw his old friend, "Radagast the Brown. Ah. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?" Radagast then stopped as Gandalf asked this last question. A look of confusion upon his face. I took a step closer to him.

"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue." He stuck his tongue out slightly and there sat a stick insect. "Oh, it's not a thought at all; it's a silly old..." I then proceeded to take the insect off his tongue and placed it in his open hand "-stick insect! Oh, thank you, my dear…Oh! Amarië! Is that you? I barely recognised you with your hair like that! Normally you're much less feminine looking!" He chuckled at our little joke.

I giggled lightly, "I know. I look strange, don't I Radagast?" I then looked towards Fili and Kili, "If SOMEONE hadn't decided that I should bathe in a muddy puddle then I'd be fine but.." I trailed off.

Gandalf and Radagast both left to talk over Radagast's problems and I sat on a rock, trying to brush my hair free of the dirt that had now dried. Then there was a howling noise. A warg.

"Was that a wolf? Are there-are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked to no one in particular.

Bofur answered him, "Wolves? No, that is not a wolf."

A warg then jumped down into the small clearing that we were in. Kili shot an arrow into its head but it rose again, only to be killed by Dwalin and his axe.

"Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Thorin proclaimed to us all.

"Orc pack?" This was the Hobbit who, before now, had never made any form of contact with orcs.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded of Thorin.

"No one."

"Who did you tell?"

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted."

Fantastic.

"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said.

Ori then replied "We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted."

"I'll draw them off." Radagast looked determined but we all knew he would not be able to outrun them.

Gandalf seemed to share my thoughts, "These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

Running across the fields with wet, muddy clothes proved highly difficult. The orcs were following Radagast for the most part apart from one who stood upon a warg on a large rock. We were hiding behind said rock. Thorin turned to Kili and nodded. The young prince then stepped out and launched an arrow into the warg's eye, killing it. Three of the Dwarves then pounced on the orc to kill it. It let out screams which began to attract the attention of the other orcs in the nearby vicinity.

Gandalf urged us to follow him so we ran. After a short bit of running, we were almost surrounded. Gandalf had seemingly disappeared and we all looked around for him.

"There's more coming!" I shouted.

"Kili! Amarië! Shoot them!" Thorin commanded us.

"We're surrounded!" Fili added.

"Where is Gandalf?"

"He has abandoned us!"

Thorin then said, "Hold your ground!"

We then saw Gandalf by a large rock, "This way, you fools!"

"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!"

Most of us ran towards Gandalf but myself and Kili continued to shoot arrows at the orcs.

"Kili! Amarië! Run!" Thorin ordered. We both turned and slid down the opening to where the other Dwarves were standing. Just as we landed, an orc fell down beside us, an arrow stuck in its chest. Thorin pulled the arrow out of the orc and looked at it in distaste and disgust.

"Elves," he threw the arrow down onto the floor.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?" Dwalin asked the company.

Bofur answered his question immediately "Follow it, of course!" I looked at Gandalf when I saw the haste of the Dwarves. He winked at me.

"I think that would be wise." He said to the rest of us.

After we had walked through the stone pathway, we saw a light shining onto us. The valley of Imladris lay before us.

"The Valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name." Gandalf informed us all.

Bilbo then whispered, "Rivendell."

**Thanks for reading! Sorry for not updating yesterday, I've been really busy preparing for a science exam and a french exam. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you to the reader who suggested the idea for Kili's revenge!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	9. Dining With The Elves

Amarië's POV:

Admiring the place I had visited often, I began the descent down to Rivendell's entrance. Bilbo was still in shock that he was in the home of the Elves. The Dwarves, however, seemed less than pleased. Thorin was glaring at Gandalf, who had led him knowingly into the home of the Elves.

As we approached the entrance, we were greeted by Lindir who was gliding down the stairs. He recognised Gandalf at once, but took a short while to notice me standing between the mass of Dwarves.

"Mithrandir." He nodded to the Grey Wizard standing beside me, "Amarië." He took my hand and kissed it gently, Elves tend to do that – particularly Lindir.

"It is good to see you once again, Lindir," I smiled at him.

_"Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen."_ He said to us. Well, myself and Gandalf since we were the only ones in the company who could speak Elvish.

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." The Wizard said to the Elf.

"My lord Elrond is not here."

I then stepped in, "Not here? Where is he?"

Horns then sounded from behind us. The company turned and saw Elves riding down the path on large horses.

Thorin's voice boomed above the shouts of the rest of the Dwarves, "_Ifridî bekâr! _Hold ranks!"

They all knitted together, pulling me amongst them. It's as if they believe the Elves will attack them which, quite obviously, they wouldn't. Lord Elrond was the first to jump down from his horse. He was holding a staff. Most likely one that belonged to an orc.

"Gandalf." He bowed slightly to Gandalf who returned the gesture.

"Amarië." Elrond had turned to me and also took my hand and kissed it while I curtseyed.

Gandalf then spoke "Lord Elrond. _Mellonamin! Mo evínedh_?"

_"__Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui. _Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."

Gandalf looked towards me then back to Elrond, "That may have been us."

Thorin then came closer to myself and Gandalf, allowing Elrond to recognise him.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met." The Dwarf King said to the Elf standing before him.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."

He made a snide comment, "Indeed; he made no mention of you."

Ignoring him, Elrond turned to address the whole company. "_Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin._"

Gloin was the voice to the mixed confusion and anger of the Dwarves, "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?"

I giggled, knowing fully well what Lord Elrond had said. "No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food."

All of the Dwarves spoke about whether or not they should trust this Elven 'stranger'. I listened out to see if I could decipher anything that they were saying. My ears may be failing me but I could have sworn hearing Thorin whisper to Dwalin, "We'll take a crap and then go." Charming.

After a short discussion the Dwarves turned to face Elrond once again. Gloin, being their voice, spoke out, "Well, in that case, lead on."

As we were led into the Elven outpost, I recognised some of the faces around me. We all followed Lindir who was escorting us to our sleeping chambers. Well, I highly doubt that the Dwarves would want to sleep in here but who knows? Maybe they'll surprise us.

"Here is where you shall stay, My Lady Amarië," Lindir said with a smile that I returned.

"Thank you, Lindir. Goodbye, my Dwarves." I giggled with a little wave. Thorin chuckled lightly at my farewell. He seems to have been much more relaxed and trusting of me lately.

I entered the room and was greeted by a large room. The sheer curtains were open, allowing light to spill into the room and give it a heavenly glow. I opened the tall glass doors that led to a balcony overlooking the path from which we came. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, wanting to cherish the moment. Rivendell was undoubtedly beautiful. Even Dwarves like Thorin and Dwalin had to agree with me and if they didn't then they were lying. Last time I was here I had not had such a wonderful view. Walking towards the bathroom, I saw a dress laid out upon the end of the bed. I should have known that I would be given a dress to change into.

I filled the bath with some hot water and removed my clothing. It felt nice to have the hot water soaking into my skin. My body was in desperate need of cleanliness. There was still some mud dotted about my skin and I hadn't quite removed it all from my hair. I scrubbed myself clean and after having a long soak, I got out and into the dress I had been supplied. It's not as bad as some of the clothing the other Elves have to wear which I am grateful for. It was a long, white dress that was made of a soft material. It floated behind me as I walked and was extremely comfortable. Due to being in the home of the Elves, I left my hair down but weaved a little braid into the front, framing my face. When I looked in the mirror, I saw the dress was fairly close fitting on the bodice but not in a revealing manner. I smiled as I gazed at the handiwork of the Elves.

I made my way towards the room in which we were to eat. The Dwarves were already seated making me the last to arrive. I stepped down the steps and walked to sit with the Dwarves. Lindir then called to me, "Amarië, My Lord Elrond has requested you seat with him tonight."

"Oh yes, of course. Thank you Lindir." He took my hand and sat me next to Thorin who had been staring at me. In fact, the other Dwarves were looking at me as well. That's strange. Nevertheless I began to eat. There was a huge array of food upon the other table. It looked ravishing.

After some time, Thorin left the table. It had been due to Gandalf and Elrond discussing their business on the Great East Road. Gandalf had obviously not told Elrond anything about the true quest that lay before us.

"Thirteen Dwarves, a Halfling and a Nymph. Strange travelling companions, Gandalf." Elrond said to him.

"These Dwarves are the descendants of the House of Durin! They're noble, decent folk. And they're surprisingly cultured. They've got a deep love of the arts." Just as Gandalf said this, Nori turned to face the Elven harp player.

"Change the tune, why don't you? I feel like I'm at a funeral!"

"Did someboy die?!" Oin exclaimed, not being able to fully hear what had been said.

Bofur hopped onto the table and shouted, "Alright lads, there's only one thing for it!" Knowing where it was headed, I got straight up and dashed to sit beside Kili, a grin sketched onto my face.

"Had to come over here for the song – can't miss a good tune!" I explained to him while giggling.

_"__There's an inn, there's an inn,  
>there's a merry old inn,<br>beneath an old grey hill,  
>And there they brew a beer so brown<br>That the Man in the Moon himself came down  
>one night to drink his fill.<em>

_Oh, the ostler has a tipsy cat  
>that plays a five-stringed fiddle<br>And up and down he saws his bow  
>Now squeaking high, now purring low,<br>now sawing in the middle._

_So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,  
>a jig that would wake the dead:<br>He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,  
>While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:<br>'It's after three!' he said._

The Dwarves then erupted into a food fight. Kili helped me to dodge from all variations of flying food. He then threw something towards Lindir but missed and hit the statue that he was standing by. I threw him an apologetic smile but was then hit by something. I saw Dwalin chuckling at me so I knew to find something that would be messy. I fumbled around and picked up a cake that had a cream decoration. Perfect. I aimed at his face and hit him square on the nose. Everyone was laughing at him and congratulating me on my victory over the Dwarf. I noticed Thorin standing there watching us, smiling quite widely. I flashed a grin and then returned to the food fight.

Rivendell was going to be very exciting with these Dwarves around!

**_Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen. - _****We heard you had crossed into the Valley.**

**_Ifridî bekâr! - _****Ready weapons!**

**_Mellonamin! Mo evínedh_****? - My friend! Where have you been?**

**_Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui. - _****We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass.**

**_Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin. - _****Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests.**

**Thanks for reading! I enjoyed writing this one a lot! I hope you like how I wrote and just so you know, the cover photo is what Amarië looks like in her dress. Leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	10. Trying To Impress Someone, Are We?

Amarië's POV:

After the food fight had died down, Thorin left with Gandalf, Balin and Bilbo to talk with Elrond about the map and its secrets. I, on the other hand, wanted to get some target practise in. Being an archer is tough work as you've got to keep training to improve your accuracy. I went down to the training rooms with some of the other Dwarves and grabbed my bow and arrows. I didn't bother getting changed – I can still shoot arrows in a dress!

The training room is huge and has sections for many different abilities. There's an area to practise sword handling, there's a place for knife throwing, there's a place for practising wielding an axe and there's a few large spaces to spar with others. My little area was in the far left-hand corner; there is a large square set out where targets will pop up for me to shoot. Not only is it good target practise but it's good for improving your reaction time.

I set the equipment up and got to shooting the targets. I spun around as the first target sprung up, letting an arrow loose. It hit the target right in the middle. This continued for a short while until all of the targets had been hit. I got up from my hunting stance and saw Dwalin standing there, looking between myself and Kili. He winked at me before saying, "Trying to impress someone are we, lassie?"

"No!" I replied a little too quickly, "What makes you say that, Master Dwarf?"

"Well, lassie, you seem to have earned the eyes of the young Dwarf prince." He looked over in Kili's direction who suddenly turned his head while blushing due to being caught in the act.

"It seems so, Master Dwarf. Well, if you wouldn't mind I need to speak with someone. I shall see you later for supper." I smiled and waved my goodbye. Whilst walking out of the room, I threw a wink in Kili's direction, making him blush a tad more. I giggled at him as I left.

I planned to speak with an old friend of mine whom I had not yet seen here in Rivendell. She was someone that I could speak about anything with. Walking through the corridors, I noticed Thorin speaking with Balin on the balcony without Bilbo, Gandalf or Elrond. Then, out the corner of my eye, I saw Aranela.

"Amarië! _Cormamin lindua ele lle!" _She greeted me with a hug.

_"__Nae saian luume, _Aranela."

"_Sut naa lle?"_

"_Amin quel, sut naa lle umien?" _I asked my Elven friend.

"_Amin quel, mellon."_ She paused for a second before carrying on,_ "_Okay, now we have gotten the necessities out of the way, please do tell of these Dwarven companions of yours."

"Well, _mellon,_ there is not much I can tell you. Though there is one thing I must tell you about."

"Ooh! Is it about one of the Dwarves?" She half-squealed from excitement.

"It might just be," I giggled.

"Tell me!"

"Well, there is one. He is the youngest of the Dwarves and is very reckless but had begun to catch my eye." I then gave out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know how I feel about him. I've recently noticed him looking at me a lot. Especially since being here. I don't know what it is – my mind is all over the place!"

"Hmm, how long have you been noticing these troubling feelings?" she asked me.

"Well, I guess it has been mainly in the past couple of days."

"Right, do you think he could be your potential One?"

"Oh, no! I am definitely not feeling such strong emotions towards him right now. Just small feelings of emotion. Anyway, Thorin would never approve. After all, Kili is a Prince and should be marrying another Dwarf, not a Nymph like me."

"You never know, Thorin may just wish for the two of you to be together."

"Who knows? I shall have to see where things go between us. Maybe I should tell Thorin. If he knew then I would know if I should consider to act upon these feelings or not."

Time soon passed and it was late in the evening. The fifteen of us (Gandalf was away speaking with Elrond) were sat around a campfire. I sat between Fili and Kili and had my arms around them in a friendly manner. Kili had at first seemed uncomfortable but then relaxed when he saw me smiling up at him. Laughs were shared and even came from Thorin who had quickly become the most serious in the company.

Thorin got up to fetch some more ale for us and so I used the opportunity to tell him about my feelings for his nephew.

"Thorin? Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute or two?"

"Of course, Amarië. How may I help you?"

"Well, this is mainly about Kili…"

"Ah, Dwalin was telling me about this."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, Dwalin said that Kili was watching you train. And quite amorously too." He chuckled lightly before continuing, "If you wish to begin somewhat of a romance with my nephew then I grant you my approval. You two seem to get along well and I shouldn't mind keeping you around a little longer." We both smirked and I felt relieved knowing that Thorin approved of us.

We returned to the campfire and when the Dwarves decided to sleep, I left to sleep in my room within the Elven outpost. My mind danced with thoughts of Kili as I began to drift off into a peaceful sleep...

**_Cormamin lindua ele lle!_**** - My heart sings to see thee**

**_Nae saian luume - _****It has been too long**

**_Sut naa lle?_**** - How are you**

**_Amin quel, sut naa lle umien?_**** - I am well, how are you doing?**

**_Amin quel, mellon. - _****I am well, friend**

**Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review letting me know what you think and what interactions you want between Amarië and Kili! ALso, thank you for so many views, I am honestly blown away by the number of people that have read this story - thank you guys so much!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


	11. The Fountain

Amarië's POV:

Early morning light glistened in my room as I sat up, adjusting myself in the bed. I had slept wonderfully – much better than all of the nights while on the quest put together. A knocking came on the door.

"Come in," I called to the person standing on the other side of the door. Fili and Kili came into the room and I greeted them while grinning. "Morning, boys!"

"Morning, Amarië. How are you on this fine day?"

"Lovely thank you, Fili. I had an amazing night's sleep. And you?"

"It could have been better…" I giggled.

"Thought so." The three of us laughed and I noticed Kili wasn't looking me in the eye or laughing as much as Fili and I were. Strange. Brushing off this unusual act, I left to change into another dress that I had found. It looked fairly similar to the one I wore yesterday and hopefully it would be as comfortable. I brushed my hair and tied it into its typical braid down my back. The company were not planning to leave Rivendell for another day or two so I had the chance to relax a little and regain my full strength. I had made plans with Aranela to walk through the gardens of Rivendell after having eaten some breakfast.

There was not as much food at breakfast as there had been at dinner last night. This was probably due to the fact that the Dwarves had cleared the table and more. Leaving the Dwarves to bathe, I found Aranela and we walked and talked.

"So, when do you think you'll be leaving?" Aranela asked me.

"Tomorrow, in the morning as well."

"So soon?! You must return to Rivendell once you have finished with the company."

"I do hope I can but I fear that I may not last this journey. There is grave danger ahead of us that may be the end of me."

"Hmm, well, knowing your skills on the battlefield I have ultimate faith in your survival."

"Thank you, Aranela but I'm afraid you may be putting too much belief in me."

"If you say so, _Mellon._"

We emerged from the walls of Rivendell and into the gardens. We were greeted with a fairly unpleasant sight. The Dwarves had not chosen an inconspicuous place to bathe. All thirteen of them had taken upon using the oversized fountain to clean themselves in. Lovely. Just as we saw them, Elrond and Lindir turned from around a corner and saw the same sight as us. Elrond had a half displeased and half expectant look on his face whereas Lindir was just standing there in pure shock horror. I could not help but laugh at the look on his face. Aranela joined in with my laughter and we burst into fits of giggles as Lindir turned quickly to face Elrond, murmuring something about returning to the main outpost of Rivendell. Instead of avoiding the naked Dwarves to our right, we snuck and hid behind a bush close to the fountain. All of their clothes were laid out in piles and they looked all too tempting. Aranela and I couldn't resist to simply leave them there. Ensuring we were unseen, I grabbed a selection of items from each Dwarf and Aranela did the same. We hid them up in trees and scattered them about but I kept a garment of Kili's and Aranela kept one of Fili's. The two younger Dwarves would be more light-hearted about the whole prank and so would be less angry at us.

Once we were pleased with the hiding places of the clothes, I found a scrap of paper in my pocket and quickly ran to find a quill and ink to write a short note. It didn't take long for me to fashion a letter to them. It read:

To the 13 Dwarves of Erebor,

There were some clothes just carelessly

left here and so we returned them to their rightful places.

Have fun finding them.

Yours Sincerely,

Ladies Amarië and Aranela, Nymph and Elf partners in crime.

We held in our laughter as we left the note there and snuck back into Rivendell.

"Well," I began, "that was eventful." Before Aranela could respond there was a loud uproar coming from the fountain area. Our little prank was taking place. Still holding Fili and Kili's tunics, we ran and hid in my bedroom. As soon as I entered the room, I ran to the balcony to see how they were reacting. Aranela stood behind me and said,

"You do realise that leaving our names on that note was a terrible mistake, don't you?"

"How so?"

"Well, my lovely Amarië, the Dwarves now know that it was us so they can plot their revenge on us."

"We'll be fine, it's only Fili and Kili you should be slightly worried about but we can handle it. Anyway, they shan't be doing too much without their tunics." I then glanced out over the gardens and saw that 11 of the company were fully clothed. The remaining 2 were left just wearing their boots, trousers and a thin shirt that did not do much to cover them up decently. They were walking behind the rest of the Dwarves and saw me on the balcony. I could see the expressions on their faces. Priceless. To make the situation even better, I waved their tunics in the air, motivating them to come into my room.

It took only a few minutes for them to come into the room.

"Oh, hello there Fili. Kili. So good to see the two of you on this fine morning." I said while smiling at them.

"Give us the clothes, Amarië. And no one will get hurt." Fili tried to threaten me.

"Hmm, let me think about this one…maybe not right this moment." I watched them both raise their eyebrows before I carried on, "Actually, Fili, here is your tunic." I handed him the clothing in my left hand but kept Kili's in my hand.

"And may I have mine, Amarië?" Kili asked, holding out his hand.

"Nope." Kili returned his hand to his side and then looked as though he was going to leave. Just as I thought I might be safe, Kili sprinted in an attempt to retrieve his tunic but I spun, keeping it out of his reach. He wrapped his arms around me while he reached for the tunic but Aranela took it and ran out of the door with Fili. Kili's arms were still around me loosely and we both stood there for a few seconds and I slowly turned in his arms to look at his face. We slowly inched closer to one another but when we heard loud footsteps, we split apart and I took a few steps back. It was Dwalin and he came holding Fili by the back of his shirt.

"I believe that your brother has something of yours." Dwalin said to Kili in his thick accent. Fili then handed the tunic over reluctantly.

"Also, lassie, that prank you pulled was evil. Pure evil; and I loved it." I smiled at him and thanked him.

"I took inspiration from that little incident the other day with someone." I emphasised this last word and looked over at Kili, but did not look him straight in the eye from embarrassment at our almost kiss. We had been so close to kissing but how could that happen? And why am I feeling like this? I know I don't love him and who knows if I ever will but why are there these lingering emotions. Besides, falling in love with someone is a huge thing and I cannot do that while on such an important quest. No, I will not allow my feelings to grow. They are small, minute emotions that shall only ever shrink. Nothing will develop; it can't.

**Thanks for reading! I loved writing this chapter and found it to flow quite easily from my mind to the computer. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Also, just to let you know. As of tomorrow, I will be on holiday so therefore won't update this as often as usual. I'll try and write something and publish to this fanfic and my other one (Fighting Beside You, Always) so keep an eye out! Lastly, thank you so much for 2000 views! That is an insane number of views and I am honestly in shock that something I wrote has earned this many eyes!**

**KiliTheDwarf7 :)x**


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